Bringing You Home
by Willow.Everdeen
Summary: AU. What if Katniss wasn't from District 12? What if she lived a life of luxury in the Capitol with her sister, Prim? This tells the tale of Katniss Everdeen from the Capitol, an aspiring escort and sponsor. When Peeta Mellark is reaped, she knows she's found her star. But what will it take to bring him home? And what will her boyfriend think?
1. The Reaping

"Bedtime, Primmie! It's the replays of the reapings tomorrow and we don't wanna miss it!"

I switched the telly off and Prim groaned. "Katnissss! I was watching that!"

"I'll record it for you," I said. "Now drink your hot chocolate and go to bed. No arguments tonight."

Prim sighed and trudged to her room. I ate my dinner of lamb stew and flicked through the magazine. At one point I must have dozed off because when I woke up I was in the living room. "Wake up, Prim!" I said frantically, looking at my watch. "The reapings are in 5 minutes! Oh gosh, how could I have slept that long..."

It had been my dream to be an escort, but I hadn't yet been presented with the opportunity. I was just a sponsor, but I always watched the Games and wanted to be an escort. How lovely it would be to receive so much money from just another person's work. Though of course I'd work as well, but I would be more than willing to work.

Prim entered the room in her District 4-themed nightgown. She always favoured District 4, because she loved water and demanded to go to the public swimming baths so many times. I'd been working on getting a proper pool in our garden, not just paddling pools, but real swimming pools.

The reapings started with District 1. A beautiful, blonde girl and a light-brown haired boy were reaped, but none of them gave me any sparks. District 2 was promising, with a sly young girl and a strong, monstrous, attractive man. District 3 looked like bloodbath fodder to me. District 4 reaped a 12 year old boy and nobody volunteered, surprisingly. District 5 had a ginger girl with a cunning look to her. District 11 had a dark-haired, tiny girl and a giant, tough boy. Then District 12. Somebody called Madge was reaped as the female, and then they called the male. Peeta Mellark. As soon as the cameras positioned on the boy I knew who my money would be on. He was incredibly handsome, with muscles that were just big enough for my tastes.

"He's the one, Primmie. I'm putting my money into him," I said dreamily. She stared at me.

"District 12? There's a change," she said. "I'd bet on that boy from 2 if I were you. He looks prepared!"

I rolled my eyes and started heading towards the bank to get a lot of money for Mister Mellark here.


	2. Maria

**Note: I changed it to present tense because past tense is hard. Bear with me.**

I wake up on the couch again, and my guardian Maria is in the kitchen, stirring tea. "Finally, you're home," I say. "You missed the reapings."

"I'm sorry. Who was reaped?"

"Eh, a few stood out. My money's on the boy from Twelve, surprisingly. He looks strong enough." I walk to the fridge and open the door, taking out a yogurt and opening it. "I can spare some change for him."

"Hopefully you've got enough," Maria says, taking some honey from the cupboard and passing it to me. I smile. She knows me too well from all the years she's been mine and Prim's carer. Ever since our parents died. But I'd prefer not to think about that, and think of Maria as our new mother.

"Nope. No more shoes for me. At least not so much," I say with a laugh, putting some honey over the top of the yogurt. "It's gonna be tough."

"Mmm," Maria says, and ties her hair back with a ribbon. "Where's Prim? Have you taken good care of her? Did she eat all her tea last night?"

"Yeah, yeah, she's fine." I giggle at the urgency in Maria's voice. She obsesses over Prim, ever since she received the chance to be our guardian. Prim is one of the cutest little girls you could ever see in the Capitol. She reminds me so much of our mother, it almost hurts to see her face in the mornings, after terrible nightmares about them.

"Hey, Katniss. Hi, Maria," Prim says sleepily as she walks to the fridge, just like me, but she pulls out the milk and pours herself some cereal. "Sleep well?"

"Very well. Another night on the couch," I say with a light laugh. "I never seem to be able to make it to my bed at night anymore."

Prim scoops up some cereal with a spoon and pops it in her mouth. There's a small silence.

"So, District Twelve," Maria says. "Must be very good to win your heart." They both laugh at the blush that creeps up on my cheeks.

"We'll see. I hope he's good with the cameras, because then I won't be his only sponsor. Perhaps as a team of sponsors, we can bring him out of that arena as a victor," I say. "The girl, Madge, I don't think she stands a chance. She looked so shocked at the reaping, even decided to shed a tear or two. I wonder if that's her angle. Her strategy, to make people overlook her."

"Could be," Maria says. "Are you going out today?"

I frown at the sudden change of subject, but Prim breaks the awkward silence. "It's the first day back at school tomorrow!"

"Oh, yes," I say. "You'll be happy to see your friends again after so long, won't you?"

She nods excitedly. "Especially Carla, my new friend!"

I laugh. Prim has a new friend every week, but I don't question this. She's a pretty, bubbly, outgoing girl, so I don't see why I should even think about questioning it. I go to get dressed, because today I'm hitting the town with my friends from school. School is quite boring, because we just learn about boring stuff like the history of Panem and stuff we all learned five years ago. The social life is pretty good though, so I accept school.

I put on a summer dress and my sandals, put a flower headband in my hair, and leave out the door after a goodbye to Prim and Maria.


	3. Special Nights

"So, word on the street is the boy from 2 is a killing machine," my friend Melissa says.

"I dunno, I guess we'll find out soon," Hilda says.

"What's up with you, Katniss?" a girl named Holly asks. "You've been quiet. Not like you."

I laugh, and wave off her comment. "No worries. Just feeling a bit deep in thought today. I'm a sponsor, after all."

"Yeah! You're lucky your parents _let _you be a sponsor!" Zoey complains. "Mine say it's gambling. It's only gambling if I bet, not if I sponsor! Ugh, my parents are stuck in the 21st century."

"That was ages ago," I point out. "And anyway, sponsorship is hard. You've got all these mentors begging you for money and you only have enough to sponsor one. I'm pretty torn between a few of the _obvious _choices, like that Cato boy, but the boy from Twelve can't be overlooked."

"Him? I didn't bother to watch District 12. They usually produce some sniveling idiots that will be gone in the first few days," Zoey says.

"Well, he looks strong enough," Hilda says quietly. "The girl's a goner, though. You can tell."

"I think her name's Madge," Melissa chips in. "The mayor's daughter. Can't have been in poverty, she won't adjust well to the arena."

"Cato's the best bet."

"We'll never know!"

"We _will, _once the Games start!"

"I bet he'll win."

"You should sponsor him, Katniss."

I'm torn. "Thanks for the help, guys. But Peeta has my vote, still. Sorry." I stand up and go shopping by myself. I buy some new clothes and shoes, although I was still trying to lay it off on how much money I spend. But my family is quite rich. We inherited a fortune from our parents, and Maria says it's all ours for the taking. She took on the job of guardian to protect us, help us grow into lovely young people, not to steal our fortune. For that, I'm grateful.

When I'm on the way there, somebody grabs me by the arm. I turn and see my boyfriend, Harold, who I haven't seen for weeks. He pulls me close and kisses me on the lips. I don't want to break his heart now, when he seems so happy to see me. The truth is, I'm not really liking him anymore. He's starting to flirt with other girls, and he thinks I don't know. So I let him kiss me for a while longer. When he pulls back, he says, "I missed you."

Doing all I can to make him happy just for now, I say, "I missed you too."

With a smirk on his face, he kisses me again. "Are you busy today? Cos I was gonna invite you back to my place."

"Oh, um, I'm shopping. Going grocery shopping, to buy some dinner. Also it's the tribute parade, what, tomorrow night? And I've got more sponsorship stuff to deal with later. So I might not be free for a while," I say, still in his embrace.

"That's a shame," he says. "Tonight was gonna be special." His face falls.

"Don't worry," I say, and our faces are so close my eyelashes brush against his cheek as I blink. "I'll see you soon."

"See you, babe," he says, and after another few kisses, I leave, practically cursing myself. While most girls at my school go crazy over the boys, I don't have very good connections. Harold mesmerized me when I met him, and I agreed to be his girlfriend. We've been together for six months now, but he's always just had me there for show. To be his little puppet. He can flex his muscles and impress the other jocks by saying he had a 'hot' girlfriend.

I'm not the hottest girl in school. I have straight, sleek brown hair and grey eyes. I like to stay in fashion and I have lots of curves in my body. Maybe that was why. He just wants me for my body, not my personality. And that's horrible.


End file.
